According to our good friends at Wikipedia, the word leprechaun is thought to come from “the Old Irish luchorpan, a compound of the roots lu (small) and corp (body). Looks at depth chart for the Boston Celtics. Nods head. Looks at mascot for the Boston Celtics. Nods head. The glove fits. Looks at OJ nodding his head vociferously from side to side. So, this iteration of the Celtics is perfect for the new-age positionless basketball, but it’s one that makes Celtics old timers cringe. Bill Walton. Dave Cowens. Robert Parish. Bill Russell. All big men that brought the pot of gold to Boston. Now, the 2017 Celtics are 34-12, the second-best record in all of basketball. Brad Stevens for President! But, a huge glaring weakness is facing off against dominant big men. Over the past two weeks, Anthony Davis went 45/16. Karl-Anthony Towns went 25/23. Even Tristan Thompson went 10/11. Tristan Thompson people! Which brings me to Joel Embiid. Last night, Embiid went:

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TOV

3PT

FG

FT

26

16

6

1

2

4

0/1

10/19

6/7

He was a true Sixer: 6 free throws made. 6 assists. 16 boards. 26 points. Nods head vociferously like OJ. Ok, back to reality. You don’t need me to tell you that Embiid is awesome. What would be of interest, though, is that the 76ers may allow Embiid to play in back-to-back games. He’s a top 25 player for fantasy right now. If he starts getting full run, that might get OJ to nod his head vociferously up and down.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

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Lord Covington has been bad the past few weeks. He’s not hoisting up shots or getting his 211 on. The turnovers have also been plentiful, which would be good if he were a pastry chef. His last four games: 5, 11, 5, and 11 points. Next game 11 points? Anyways, I’m not too worried about the Lord. He has an extensive track record. Plus, one must always have faith in the Lord, right?

He did have 2 offensive rebounds and 5 defensive rebounds. I thought Ben was a Sixer? Looks like Embiid took them all last night. Simmons is really good. I do worry about his lack of J and aggressiveness at times. With that said, he’s going to score, grabs boards, dish out dimes, and get his block and 211 on. The lack of 3s and turnovers keep his fantasy value down, though.

TJ McConnell:

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TOV

3PT

FG

FT

15

2

2

3

0

4

2/2

5/8

3/4

He’s been a favorite of all the Razzball writers this week. And for good reason. That hair is impeccable. I kid. He’s scored in double figues three straight games and 211’d three in three straight games. It’s always the innocent looking ones you have to keep your eye on.

Since returning from injury, Morris is now consistently getting around 25 minutes of run per game. He’s also hoisted up 9, 13, 13, and 8 shots in the last four games. Morris won’t contribute much in D stats, but he will grab some boards, drain some 3s, and get buckets.

The Commissioner isn’t focused on D. Isn’t it his duty to protect and serve? For Gordon, the best defense is a good offense, as he’s averaging close to 20 shots per game. Unfortunately, he’s been converting at a 35% rate. It’s only a matter of time before he gets hot again.

Since the start of the year, Simmons has scored single digits in four of seven games. At least he’s played 35, 32, and 33 minutes the past three. With that said, he’s so scoring dependent and doesn’t contribute much in the periphery categories.

Always has the potential to mess around, but as my momma used to tell me….potential don’t mean shit. There are so many annoying things with Elfrid. Obviously, his hair, but the free throw shooting. 63%? Seriously? Also, Vogel will sit Elf in favor of DJ Augustin at times. Aiya. Not even a top 100 player for fantasy right now.

Still crazy to think that Hezonja was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Mario needs some magic mushrooms. The minutes are all over the place, but when Mario plays he chucks, especially from downtown. He’s averaging 10 shot attempts per game from the field and almost five from downtown since the start of the year (8 games). Has scored double figures in six of the eight games and averaged five boards during that span. Not too shabby, but nothing super.

Since Isaiah Thomas has started playing, Love has had three games with a usage rate below 20%. Prior to IT playing, the usage rate was consistently in the high-20s to low-30s. While Love will still get around 10 shots a game, he probably won’t be getting the 15-20 he was getting pre-IT. Because he doesn’t contribute much in the D stats, it’s going to be difficult for Love to remain a top 25 player for fantasy.

2-for-8 from the charity stripe. LeBrick. I kind of feel like LeBron is playing LePossum right now. Letting IT get into the mix and coast until LeAll-Star break. Get LeCharged up. Then, unleash LeJuggernaught for the stretch run.

Played 30 minutes, which makes back-to-back games with at least 30 minutes of run. The usage rate has been in the 30% range since he’s returned. I didn’t think IT would make an impact this year, but it looks like he’s going to be a vital contributer going forward, unlike most of the IT guys I’ve worked with. Did you turn the power on then off? I kid. The IT guys were always very helpful. So was the Stocktonator, as it liked IT last night.

39 double-dubs in 47 games. KAT literally does it all. Scores, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shoots 3s, and converts at a high percentage from everywhere on the court. When I say literally, I mean literally because he’s played in all 210 of a possible 210 games in his 2 1/2 year career. Anthony Davis is like, “Why everybody gotta be looking at me?” You know who was all over KAT last night? Stocktonator, that’s who.

Returned from injury and played 26 minutes. Was rusty but at least his owners are once again Harden excited.

PJ Tucker:

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TOV

3PT

FG

FT

5

9

0

1

0

1

1/4

2/8

0

With both Ariza and Gerald Green suspended, Tucker sucked up most of the minutes. He’s not a scoring threat, but will grab boards and get his 211 on. He’s going to get a minutes boost for another game, so he’s also a viable streaming option.

Played 37 minutes after getting 36 minutes of run the game before. The 14 boards were a season-high, as he tallied his second double dub of the year. Young has scored double figures in six straight games.

Played 32 minutes. This is the kind of game I expect from Nurkic going forward. With that said, he has been very inconsistent this year and last night’s game was against Sabonis, who is terrible defending the position.

For some reason, Teo the Magician is available.
I like his upside, as well as the fact that he’s getting better every game.
I’ve recently scooped up McConnell for Rondo, got fed up with RRs duds and like McC, especially with Fultz having additional issues.
Rubio is still pretty bad, but I still have hopes of him bringing it up a notch (wouldn’t be the first time).
Lee is not attractive, but he’s a contributor across the board and a top-60 player for the season.
Or maybe the newcomer McC should go after all?
I’m already leading my league in AST, but do believe I might regret missing on Milos.
Do you guys see a drop for him?
Thanks and respect from Serbia!

Hey, trying to be objective, no favourites in fantasy. At least in theory. 😉
Based on your name, guess you’ve been shooting for The Freak in your drafts. And Koufos in deep leagues. Very, very, very deep. 🙂

Hi son,
I feel lee’s value is going down with thj’s return. Looking some available guards to replace him. Would you rank these available guards? And who would you suggest best for me to nab in preparation of playoffs.

Hey Son! Got an offer where I trade Ben Simmons to receive Steph Curry. Sounds enticing, but I’m in a 10 person roto with keepers. Next year I could keep Simmons for $14, or if I accept the offer, Steph for $58. The question is immediate output vs. long term value. I’m currently running 5th in our league and am leading in steals and blocks, but last in TOs and FG%. Is this a trade you’d take?

Yea, if what I read was correct he has been closing out games together with Lowry and DD. And he delivers even coming off the bench. But should we make room for Prince? Like do a 2 for 1 trade. Is it going to be worth it?

Cos I still got guys that are pissing me off–I’m talking to you James Johnson. Lol. I know he provides decent amount of boards and dimes but jeez his d-stats are nowhere to be found at times and his scoring has been inconsistent all year. Meanwhile Rubio, as inconsistent as he is, is still able to produce serviceable number of steals/boards/dimes and has a nice three game stretch.

I’m more inclined to move Johnson than Rubio, and I’m thinking of pairing him up with AG, which guard could I land for the two? Beal? George?

*I also have Thad who’s maddeningly inconsistent and has a bad playoff schedule but I like him better than Johnson.

@I just wanna Kawhi: I’ve read the same. I don’t think Prince is a must get, but he is a young cat on a bad team, so he will probably get tons of run down the stretch.

Don’t talk about JJ like that! Ha! I’ve always been a fan, so I’m obviously biased. I did watch the MIA/ORL game the other day and he was running the point along with JRich. That was with Dragic out. I always like him because he’s versatile and contributes across the board. If you can get Beal or George, by all means, but I have a feeling you’d need to give up more.

Ha! I missed you with the Kawhi and Spurs rant. Good to have you back.